Regional Research Frameworks

These have been developed in each region as part of the Regional Research Frameworks initiative promoted by English Heritage in collaboration with local authorities, in order to provide an effective yet flexible structure for decision making regarding archaeological research. These have adopted the three-stage structure envisaged by English Heritage in Frameworks for our Past (Olivier 1996) has been adopted, which sees the research framework as comprising:

Resource Assessment: an overview of the current state of knowledge and understanding in the region.

Research Agenda: recognition of the potential of the resource, gaps in our knowledge and an unprioritised list of research topics.

Research Strategy: a prioritised list of research objectives (seen as flexible over time), furthered by implementing specific Research Projects.

In the light of the further knowledge gained from research and other projects, the agenda and strategy will be subject to continuing review.

EAA Occasional Paper No.8, 2000: Research and Archaeology: a Framework for the Eastern Counties 2. research agenda and strategy, edited by Nigel Brown and Jenny Glazebrook.

East Midlands

The Archaeology of the East Midlands: An Archaeological Resource Assessment and Research Agenda (Editor Nicholas J. Cooper) was published in March 2006 as Leicester Archaeology Monograph No. 13. Work has been ongoping to revise the agenda and develop a research Strategy.

The Updated Research Agenda and Strategy for the Historic Environment of the East Midlands is now available at the Trent and Peak Archaeology website

Further information about the project, including downloadable versions of the original versions of the period overviews and the county by county papers are available from the Research Framework pages on the Nottingham University website.

North East

Shared Visions: The North East Regional Research Framework for the Historic Environment (by Petts, D and Gerrard, C) was published in 2006. It provides an academic basis for research, setting out a series of priorities for the North East (comprising County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Teesside) to help provide structure to commercially driven fieldwork locally and and help in directing all aspects of future research.

Further information (including a .pdf version of Shared Visions, details of how to order a print copy of the monograph and a link to the Hadrian's wall Research Framework) are available from the NERRF website.

North West

Work on developing the Research Framework for the North West started with a conference, Framing the Past, held in Lancaster in 2001, and began as a full-time project in August 2003. The project was supported by English Heritage and by all of the region's principal archaeological organisations, and co-ordinated by Mark Brennand (Cumbria County Council).

The Framework has been published as two volumes: The Archaeology of North West England: An Archaeological Research Framework for North West England Volume 1 Resource Assessment and Research and Archaeology in North West England: An Archaeological Research Framework for North West England Volume 2 Research Agenda and Strategy

South East

Given diversity of the region, being tackled in a number of sub-regions;

The Solent Thames Archaeological Research Framework covers the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The project was launched in 2005 and work is being co-ordinated by Oxford Wessex Archaeology.

Further details are avaialble on the STRF's web pages, including period-based regional assessment reports and research agendas and period based assessment reports for each county.

South West

The South West Archaeological Research Framework (SWARF) project is collaborative project undertaken by those with an interest in research into the historic environment in the South West of England. These include academics, local authority archaeologists, local societies, the Council for British Archaeology and others.

The first two parts of the project, Resource Assessment and Research Agenda have been published as The Archaeology of South West England. Downloadable versions and details of how to order print copies are available from the SWARF page.

Further information about the project, including details of how to become involved in the process from the SWARF pages on the Somerset CC website.